 "Photo: Shane MacDowell")
Senior forward Sara Hourihan scored her third goal of the season for the UNH women's soccer team, but the Wildcats couldn't overcome two quick goals in the first half by the Oregon State Beavers and lost 2-1 on Friday afternoon at Lewis Field in Durham. After suffering only seven losses in the entire 2007 season, the Wildcats are now winless in their past seven games and have lost four straight decisions, three at home, to drop their record to 1-6-1. The win is Oregon State's fourth in its past five games and improves their record to 5-2-0.
For a team that traveled 3,200 miles to Durham from Corvallis, Ore., the Beavers sure didn't look jetlagged. They came out fast and scored two goals on five shots in the first 30 minutes of the game and played much of the opening half in the UNH end. Oregon State struck first in the eighth minute when junior midfielder Najma Homidi caught a crisp pass from teammate Caitlin Seeley and fired a low ball under the left shoulder of UNH goalkeeper Ally Yost. Yost slowed down the shot as she caught a piece of it on its way to the net, but it wasn't enough to stop the ball from trickling across the line for a 1-0 Oregon State lead.
Hourihan's goal tied the game at one and came at the 16-minute mark of the first half on a penalty kick awarded when a Beaver player tripped up Hourihan in the box. She booted the ball low on the right side past the outstretched arms of Oregon State's freshman goalkeeper, Katie Bell. 17 minutes later, in what was a wild first half, the game-winning goal was scored by Oregon State freshman Brittany Galindo after she knocked the ball through a sea of bodies and past Yost following a high corner kick on the right side.
"The girl played a pretty good ball from the corner but it was just a scramble," said Yost. "It hit off me, hit off a defender, and it was all within the six yard box and they finished it." Hourihan stressed that the second goal "needed to be cleared out" of the box earlier than it was and head coach Michael Jackson called it a "lack of concentration." The second half was a back-and-forth battle with neither team yielding any ground. Oregon State was still able to control much of the play and stopped UNH from gaining any momentum. In the final minutes, the Wildcats put together a string of offensive opportunities that nearly tied the game, including a free kick that soared inches over the crossbar with only a minute left to play. In the end, however, the result was another close, hard-fought loss for the Wildcats. And with such high expectations built off of a great 2007 season, it is surprising to see the Wildcats with such a poor record. But five of their six losses have been by a single goal and the team knows that patience and determination are the keys to gaining better results. "We might be on a losing streak but the season isn't over," said Hourihan. "We're playing good teams and we know that, so we can't get down on ourselves."
With only one nonconference game remaining before a rigorous eight game test throughout the America East conference, UNH needs to capitalize on their chances and get a couple bounces to go their way, for a change.
"We had good opportunities but we have to finish them," said Hourihan. "America East is still what counts."
Although clearly frustrated by the slim margin of defeat that continues to spoil the Wildcats' hopes, Coach Jackson is glad to see the team working as a team and playing collectively.
"I feel like the team understands that we're in this together," said Jackson. "We need to build on that and play more minutes of quality soccer"
Up next for the women's soccer team is the Dartmouth Big Green, who come to Lewis Fields on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 4 p.m. for the Wildcats' final nonconference game before the America East schedule begins next Sunday.
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